John Francis Rand

John F Rand, 99, of Highland Beach passed away peacefully on Thursday May 4th, 2023 at his home.

John was a beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather.

John was born and raised in the Bronx, NY and married his high school sweetheart, Ingeborg Schmitz (deceased) in 1946 upon his return from military service. They were married 68 years.

John was a WWII Veteran who joined the US Army Signal Corp in 1942 as a member of the radio communications team for US and Allied forces. He was on one of the famous “Liberty Ships” in an aircraft carrier task force to transport troops and materials to the Southeast Asia theatre.  He also provided reliable communication links with “Merrill’s Marauders” in Burma to Communications Headquarters for General MacArthur and worked in support of the Flying Tigers in Kinming, China.

After the war, he went to The City of NY College and with language skills in Chinese and Spanish joined Credit Suisse Americas. He would go on to become the first American in charge of the US Main office in NY for North and South America.

Eventually, John and Inge moved to Highland Beach 40 years ago and bought a home in Bel Lido. He was later elected to the position of Commissioner and then Vice Mayor on the Highland Beach Town Council.

John had 3 children, John W. Rand (deceased), (wife Drucilla Rand also deceased) and two daughters Linda Ladolcetta, (husband Gary Ladolcetta) and Ingrid Sorensen (husband Michael Sorensen), 6 grandchildren, (Michael Ladolcetta (wife Abby), Lauren Nelson (husband Sean Nelson), Susan Smith (husband Terry Smith), Elizabeth, Kelly and John P) as well as 4 great grandchildren (Terry, Blake, Kara, and Logan).

A graveside service will be held at 2:30 PM on Monday, June 5 at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, FL.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Francis Rand, please visit our floral store.